Paper support for typewriters



Nov. 19, 1935. 1.. c. ANTRIM PAPER surom non 'ryrnwarrsns Fil ed Oct. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-sheaf. 1

INVENTOR.

Nov. 19, 1935. L. c. ANTRIM 2,021,847

PAPER, SUPPORT FOR TYBEWR'ITBRS I Filed Oct. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "Patented Nov. 19, 1935 amiss? ran snrron'r non nyrnwnrrnhs howls 0. Antrlm, New York, H. ER, assior to dutographlc Register Company, Hohohen, N. R, a corporation oi New Jersey Application @ctoher a, an, Serial No. statue 2 or on. nor -1st) I This invention relates to attachments for typewriting machines and the like, adapted to support and "supply continuous web paper to the type printing mechanism.

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a small and compact continuous web carrier for use with typewriters and the like which will be more satisfactory andemcient than those lid heretofore proposed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper support and supply attachmerit for typewriters which may, while in use, he in close proximity to the typewriter so as to be convenient for loading and other manipulation.

It is also one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a paper support and v A supply attachment for typewriters which may be automatically moved conjointly with the traveling typewriter carriage yet impose a minimum undesirable load on the latter and insure proper step-by-step letter spacing travel of the typewriter carriage. 1

A feature of the present invention is the provision of a box-like web pack carrier adapted to be moved with the typewriter carriage, and so arranged that succeeding zlg-zag folded sections of the continuous webs may freely be pulled from the pack in the carrier toward the'typewr'iter carriage for use. v

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a web carrier adapted to be moved with the typewriter carriage, which" maybe readily connected to and used with typewriters and the like of' various sizes and makes.

Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a novel yielding connectingdevice for joining the traveling web carrier to the traveling typewriting carriage which insures speedy and usual letter space movement and at the same time effects smooth, conjoint follower travel of the web carrier. r

A further feature of the present invention is the provision of an extremely simple clamping arrangement whereby it is possible to connect a" and at the w time prevents undesirable canting of the carrier on its support.

In addition to these features the present invention provides the further feature of an extremely simple clamping device for connecting a 5 web carrier to a typewriting machine or the like which is extensible or connectible over a wide range longitudinally and vertically with respect to the machine with which it is intended to be used. i

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings- Figure l is a top plan view of the web carrier of the present invention and a diagrammatic i5 showing of the platen; carriage and a portion of the free of the machine to which it is connected carrier in its advanced position as eflected by the flexed spring.

Fig; 4 is a side elevation of the carrier of the present invention connected to a typewriter.

Fig. 5 is a detail of the clamping device provided by the present invention connected to a portion of a typewriter of different structure than that shown in Fig. 4. I

Fig. 6 is a detail of a modified form of resilient connector.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the carrier it of the present invention comprises a main support or frame ll including two .substantially L-shaped members I? with base portions it and vertical standards it. The base portions are'interconnected near the front with an angle'plate l5 fastened thereon with screws l6 and this angle plate carries a pair of thumb screws ll adapted to be moved against the back of a frame it of a typewriter it or other similar machine with which the device is intended to be used while the base 53 is provided with a plurality of short vertical fingers 28 adapted to hook behind the frame to provide a rigid connection between the carrier device of the present invention and the typewriter when the screws H are tightened.

The L-shaped members 52 are held together by. a V-shaped lower rail it which extends from one to the other base member it and'held to 55 each by fastening screws 22, as is best shown in Fig. 4. The rigidity of this connection is further increased by setting the lower V rail 2| in notches 23 provided therefor in the base members, and in addition the support is held together as a rigid unit by a second inverted V-shaped.

rail 24 set in small notches 25 in the forwardly projecting arms 26 at the upper end of the vertical standards l4 and held therein by screws 21,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Although it is possible to make the support I l entirely as a one piece structure it is at the present time considered preferable to make it of several pieces, substantially as described, so that it will be extremely light and can therefore be easily handled, and so that it can be economically manufactured from cast iron or other comparatively cheap material, while the rails 2| and 24, which are subject to wear, may be made-of more expensive wear-resistingand hardenable material.

The present invention is intended to be used preferably with continuous web, zig-zag folded packs of stationery such as the pack 28 having interleaved carbon and record strip webs 29 shown in Figs. 1 and 4. For this purpose there is provided a web pack carrier box 30 comprising side walls 3| and 32, front and back walls 33 and 34, and a bottom 35,which, to reduce the amount of space required on the table is set In order to assemble the carrier box to thecarrier frame it is merely necessary to move the carrier between the vertical standards slide the inverted V-shaped rail into the transverse apertures set the railon the forwardly projecting arms 26 and then secure the rail thereto with the screws 21. Thus, there is provided a simple roller and rail device which makes it possible to freely move the carrier over a limited range of travel between the standards l4.

Although the simple arrangement just described involving only the two rollers 39 and rail 24 is sumcient'to support the carrier box 30 of the present invention a second rail and roller device is provided at the bottom of the box to insure vibrationless travel and to prevent canting of the box should the load be unbalanced therein. This second rail and roller device comprises a block 42 secured to the bottom 35 of the box 30 and is provided with a vertically extending aperture 43 accommodating a V-shaped roller 44 on a stud 45. The block 42 is also provided with a horizontal aperture 46 merging into the vertical aperture 43 and adapted to accommodate the lower V-shaped rail 2!. This lower roller and rail device, is, like the upper roller and rail-device, completed by merely sliding the rail through the horizontal aperture 46, .after the carrier box 39 is assembled to the top rail 24, until the V rail 2| moves into the cooperating V of the roller 44 and sets in the notches 23 of the base 13 where the rail is secured with the screws 22. u

The carrier box is also provided with a guide 14 and,

roller to facilitate the operation of pulling a continuous web 29 from its 'zig-zag folded position in the box 30 to a point exterior therefrom for use. For this purpose the straps 36 are preferably provided with forwardly and upwardly pro- 5 jecting fingers 41 and at their top end are provided with a bearing 48 for a roller 50 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The location of the roller 50 is such that it prevents dragging the webs 29 at a sharp angle across the top edge 5| of the 'box and thereby serves to minimize the load or friction on the web as it is pulled from the carrier box.

Feeding of the web 29 to the typewriter I9 is further facilitated according to this invention by having the carrier box inclined at a slight angle from the perpendicular and away from the side from which the webs are taken from-the pack.

, With this'arrangement the part of the pack remaining tends to fall back against the side wall 34 and away from the wall 35, thus, always leaving a space between the pack and the adjacent wall 35 in which the lower folds may turn in traveling upwardly out'of the box and relieving the advancing portions of the webs free of any tension or strain which might otherwise occur. Y The substantially vertically disposed carrier box of the present invention has the further advantage, overhorizontally' disposed supports wherein the pack lies substantially fiat, of sup- 3o porting the pack 28 on end and thereby reducing the tendency of the interleaved carbon sheets smudging the record strips in the pack 28 as might occur when the full weight of the pack bears on the carbon sheets and traveling a movement causes parts of the pack to shift slight-- ly. Also, the next succeeding layers of the pack are, in the substantially vertically disposed arrangement of the present invention, prevented by gravity from loosely following the topmost folded form as it is pulled from the box 30, as would be liable to occur in ahorizontally disposed box. Besides providing a paper carrier which takes up a minimum of desk space in connection with the typewriter the substantially vertically 'dis- 4;

posed paper carrier box 30 of the present invention with its exposed and open top end may be loaded easily, and the paper may be manipulated or arranged by the typist from her seated position by having the open end of the box inclined as shown, the supporting rail may be located in the most desirable position, namely, directly over the box in line with the center of gravity thereof, without obstructing the open end for working and other purposes.

If desired, the box 30 could be inclined forwardly rather than rearwardly, but at the present time it is considered preferable to have the box inclined rearwardly in order to minimize any likelihood of the carrier box engaging rear porso tions of the machine with which it is intended to be used and so'that it will not interfere in any manner with the operators regular manipulations at the back of the typewriter.

Now, of particular importance, according to u the present invention, there is provided a very simple and highly efllcient structure for connecting the traveling carrier box 30 to a traveling carriage 52 of a typewriter or the like, in such manner as to insure automatic conjoint travel of the carrier box with the carriage and yet without detriment to the regular speedy intermittent letter spacing travel of the carriage.

In its present preferred form this means comprises a lazy tong connector 53 made of resilient 15 adapted to be connected to a paper table 59 usually provided on the traveling" carriages of typewriters, and the like, or to some other suitable part of the traveling carriage.

The clamp 58 is preferably made with a lower jaw 60 and an upper jaw 5i pivoted intermediate their ends on a pin 62 and having a thumb screw $3 at the back end. The front of each of these jaws is preferably provided with concave recesses 66 adapted to embrace the beaded portion 6% of a guide plate 66 which is "sometimes provided on carriages, as shown in Fig. 5, or adapted to grip the more nearly fiat top edge 6? of guide plates sometimes provided, as shown in Fig. 4. In either event it is merely necessary for the operator to turn thesimple thumb screw $3 in order to close the jaws of the clamp on the paper guide plate and thereby complete the connection between the carrier box 353 and the typewriting machine carriage 52.

In some typewriters, bookkeeping machines, and the like, the traveling carriage is closer to the bevel: of the machine than in others and consequently the carrier of the present invention would be somewhat closer to the carriage when assembled to these machines. The lazy tong con nector 53 provided by. the present invention makes it possible to easily and quickly connect the carrier box ill to the traveling carriage -oi these various machines, and various sizes and even though there is a considerable dii-' ference in the longitudinal position of the traveling carriage with respect to the carrier support it and the box 30 which is clamped to the type writer frame, and even though there is a con siderable .difierence in the relative heights. Figure 5 illustrates this feature clearly,-as the lazy tong 53 is considerably depressed when compared with the form shown in Fig. 4. It is similarly movable about the pivot 56 or other pivot bl-into various vertical positions relative to the base. This latter flexible connection is especially vantageous for it permits unrestrained vertical .case shifting movement of the typewriter carriage.

Now, of particular importance, it should be noted thatthe strips 5% of the lazy tong 53 are made of yielding material, preferably'spring steel, in order to provide a flexible connection between the carrier box and the traveling carriage. Ap-. plicant has found by experiment that if a solid connection is provided between the two there is so much inertia to overcome in the way of starting the loaded carrier box 30 that letter space movements oi the carriage 52 become sluggish requiring the operator to reduce her speed of typing. However, the yielding connection provided by the present invention overcomes any detrimental effect of this inertia factor in a novel and highly efilcient manner. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, when a user strikes a key the typewriter carriage 52 moves in the direction of the arrow to one of its regular letter spacing positions in the now well-known manner, without undue re straint, because the yielding connection as shown by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 2, permits the box ill to lag.

At the same time the yielding connection has stored in it energy enough to cause the box so to be moved upon the rails and follow the ad- .stopped, overriding will yancing typewriter carriage, as shown in Fig when the inertia of the box has'beeri'fovercolmei In this way a smooth follower 'action isoinsurcd between the box 30 and the traveling carriage,

and of utmost importance, .even-thoughitho box is be heavily loaded no undue restraint is impo'sed v upon the carriage, letter space movementot-xthe carriage is insured and consequently thereis no danger of overtyping, and mixed'columnantyping in the caseof bookkeeping machines; 10 In actual practice it has been found that al-c. though the typewriter carriage is free to move speedily into its-successive letter space positions with its usual jerky motion, the follower travel of the carriagebox is not jerky as would be sup l5 posed, but is comparatively smooth and even be-. cause the resilient straps 5% yield as the type-' writer carriage initially moves and then serve to gradually pick up the carrier box and overcome the inertia of the latter to move it into ado position substantially parallel with the then forwardly spaced typewriter carriage, as shown in Fig. 3. Because the carrier box is not moved forwardly with great force or with a snap action there is no perceptible overriding action. of the 26 carrier box, but even should a little overriding occur (vizl, the carrier box to moving farther to the left than the typewriter carriage 52) the effects would be: First, for the momentum of the carrier to assist the typewriter carriage in get so ting started at the next depression of a key and escapement of the typewriter carriage; and see end, to keep the box moving at a constant and even speed across the iran'ie'while the typewriter carriage is moving regularly but intermittently. so

When the typewriter carriage has definitely occur. However, the shock absorbing action of the straps with this condition yielding slightly to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, is such that it prevents any rebound go of the carrierbox which might otherwise occur and cause the carrier box in its rebound to pull the typewriter carriage back again a letter space or two, which might result in inadvertent overtyping. In the modification shown in Fig. 6, a single strip to of yielding material, preferably oi spring steel is provided rather than the lazy tong structure just described; This strip is provided witha pivotal connection Eta to the block E3 on the so carrier box til and at its outer end is provided with an elongated aperture it to permit a limited range of longitudinal adjustment of a two jaw clamp 58a, for connection to a movable typewriter carriage. This clamp is substantially the 55 same as the. clamp 58, shown in Fig. 4, andtdiifers only in the provision of a thumb screw look-- ing connection 68 through the aperture lid of the single strap. Like the preferred form oi the present invention hereinbefore described in deso I tail this modified connection is made oi, lent material to insure smooth follower travel of the box so and is also capable of a considerable ad= justment both longitudinally and vertically, relative to the machine with which it is to be used, we

other variations and mocations may be 75 I the scope of this invention and portiom oi the; improvements may be used without I others;

' plane substantially vertically through the longitudinal axis of the rail.

2. The combination in a traveling paper carrier for supplying continuous web paper to a typewriting machine, of a frame; a single rail in said frame; a paper carrier box open at its top to facilitate loading, and working removal, of the paper; and means suspending said carrier box i'or travel on s'aid rail at aslight angle trom' perpendicular so that the open top thereof is clear 0! the rail to facilitate loading and other manipulation of the paper in the container, and 10 so that its center of gravity when loaded will be in a plane passing substantially vertically through the longitudinal axis of the rail.

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